Cookery
 

I like that word, it sounds old-fashioned and comforting.

Anyway, my dad recently lost his job, so being old enough to work I'm trying to help out by doing my own food shopping etc. (they won't let me give them any housekeeping money as they think I'm "too young to be paying for houseroom", so it's the best I can do).

Basically, since I love to cook anyway, I thought it might be cool to have a thread in which people can share low-budget recipes. I have a few up my sleeve, which I'll share if anyone else wants to play.

I've found that you can do anything with potatoes and carrots. My current favourite: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=23024.0 Now you're probably not vegetarian like myself, but if you browse the site I've linked you to you'll find a lot of really good stuff. Veggies are cheaper than meat, usually.

No, no, vegetarian recipes are great. I make a few veggi meals myself - I like meat but only eat it about 3 or 4 times a week.

That looks good. I've never made homemade soup before - time to give it a try, I think.

Thanks!

Pleasure to help you out. I made this myself only a few days ago, and it's great. Just remember to add the salt - it tastes shit without it. (lol)

I like to have a glass of wine when I cook, which is often a mistake - just before Christmas I tried to make something for my boyfriend (nothing in particular, just some lamb mince and a load of vegetables thrown in a big pot. I guess it's doomed to failure when you don't even know what you're making, lol). Trouble is, I went slightly overboard on the wine and ended up forgetting to use any seasoning at all.

I don't know if you've ever tried lamb mince before becoming a vegetarian, but without lots of salt and herbs, I've reached the conclusion that it is the most singularly bland food on the face of the planet. Also, the whole thing looked like roadkill.

I didn't get laid that night. :(

Hahaha, that's why I always pour the wine into the _food_ instead of downing it myself, lol. ;)

I cook a really simple vegetarian chilli about once a week, which I freeze in portions and heat up for lunches.

Chop up an onion, a potato (very small cubes, so they cook quicker), baby sweetcorn, garlic, a red or green pepper (I've found they're better than yellow ones) and however many chillies you want.

Put them all in a casserole pot, add a tin of kidney beans and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Add s little bit of water, a teaspoon of chilli powder and stir it all around. Put it in the oven to cook for two hours.

I really only estimate the amount of ingredients, but when I make it I use 3 chillies and a small packet of baby corn (which I suppose contains about 10).

It also ends up working pretty well if you use a slow cooker instead of cooking it by oven. But two hours is probably the maximun amount of time oven-wise, as the poatato is usually cooked by then.

I think this is a fantastic thread, shoelace...

I have soooo many recipes I would love to share. My hubby was a truck driver when we got married, and I went with him. I bought a small propane stove (has a cooking eye on one side and a grill on the other) and a camping refrigerator and put them in the truck so I could cook for him in the truck. Saved a boatload of money. So yeah.. I know alot of cheap easy recipes, especially if you like mac and cheese..lol! I must tell you of the mac and cheese casserole sometime. I have dubbed it $3 casserole. It used to be $2 casserole, but, well, with inflation these days... :-)

But that is for a different post. I shall tell you of chicken parmesean.

What you need:
Chicken
A bag of italian blend cheese (you can buy mozzerella, but I buy the italian blend because I like the parmesean and provelone that is in it as well. And its cheaper. But its whatever you like cheese wise..)
A jar of prego (or your fave marinara sauce)
italian bread crumbs (plain are fine too)
an egg
Orzo (or your fave pasta.. my family just seems to gravitate towards orzo for some reason. Spaghetti is cheaper and just as good.)

Ok. Dip the chicken breasts in egg, then dredge in breadcrumbs.
Toss them in a pan with some oil in it, so they don't stick. Brown on both sides.
Pour part of the marinara sauce into the bottom of a baking dish. Make sure you use one big enough to lay all the chicken in single layer. Also, make sure it is at lease 2 inches deep. You don't want it cooking over in your oven. I promise, that sucks. Bad.
Lay the chicken in the pan, on the sauce, single layer.
Pour the rest of the sauce over it.
Sprinkle the cheese (I use the whole bag) over the whole dish.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and after preheated, put the chicken in for 30 minutes.
When the chicken has about 5 mins to go, put your pasta on to cook.
When the pasta is done, the chicken will be done.
Serve over the pasta, and enjoy!

I cook a really big pan of chicken and freeze it. It keeps really well, and reheats nicely. Great for packing lunches, too.

This dish looks complicated when done, but I promise, it is so easy. My husband loves cooking this. We call it "Jonathan Friendly Cuisine", because.. well.. when left to his own devices, we may all get salmonella or botulism.

I will post some more recipes later. I just woke up and I need my morning tea and burbon. Hehehe...

Pasta + a tin of Italian roma tomatoes + olive oil + salt + basil + grana padano cheese (or parmesan, though grana padano is preferable) = dinner. Just simmer the tomatoes and olive oil for a while, cook the pasta with a good amount of salt, toss in the sauce, add basil and cheese. I then like to stir the whole thing on low heat for a while so the cheese melts into everything nicely.

Another favourite is stir fried vegetables + ginger + vegetarian oyster sauce / kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), served with rice. Tofu or meat can also be added.

I also make an awesome risotto and a bunch of random Thai things, might write up the recipes later.

Company Chicken

8 Chicken Tenders or 4 chicken breasts, halved
A can of cream of mushroom soup
sour cream
garlic powder
salt
bacon
rice

Preheat oven to 400
wrap the chicken in bacon strips and lay in a baking dish.
In a bowl, mix the cream of mushroom soup, and about 3/4 cup of sourcream (I just estimate this... a big glob, anyways) some garlic and salt to taste. Pour over the chicken. Bake for an hour. Serve over rice.

This is surprisingly good, and once again, make extra and freeze. I have never met anyone that didnt love this dish. And its wicked easy.

Awesome! Thanks so much, everyone.

Okay, here's one of mine which serves two. You need pasta, spinach, 4 pieces of bacon if you're not vegetarian, an onion, a few mushrooms, a tin of chopped tomatoes (economy ones are best, as they don't have salt or anything that could mess up the flavour - this is a no added salt meal).

Put the pasta on, and meanwhile fry the bacon in garlic and olive oil until it browns. While this is going on, chop up the onion and throw it in. Then do the same with the mushrooms. When these are looking done, add the spinach and rosemary (I use dried, but if you want to be posh you can use fresh). A few minutes before the end, add the tin of tomatoes.

Put it all in a bowl and mix together with a spoon and a fork, and it's done. The whole thing takes about 15 minutes.

I don't know any recipies, but if you live in the UK, Lidl and Aldi have very cheap groceries, and the quality is just as good, if not better than Sainsburys, Tescos etc. I wouldn't shop anywhere else really.

Hmm...I've never really priced out my recipes so I don't really know what is cheap and what is pricey but I will take a look later tonight and see if I can't find something cheap and easy.

Something that may help you keep down cost is this, it lets you quickly see what is on sale at various grocery stores and how long those sales will be in effect. Also do not underestimate the savings that can be had from clipping coupons (freshman year I tallied up everything that I saved in coupons and it was over $800), just make sure that you actually need what you are getting and don't simply buy something unnecessary because you have a coupon, mvp cards and the like can also save you a good chunk of cash (about $300 for me so far this year) and are free (you can just go into the store and sign up at customer service).

micro + hotpockets delish !

Chicken Parmesan

4 boneless chicken breasts (pounded to 1/2 thickness and seasoned with salt and pepper)
2 eggs
seasoned bread crumbs (mix in a bit of Parmesan crumbs)
olive oil (about 1/2 inch up the pan)
8 slices of mozzarella cheese
Spaghetti sauce
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preparation

Whisk the egg. Dip the chicken breasts in egg mixture and then in bread crumbs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in the hot oil on both sides until golden, about 3 minutes on each side. Set chicken in a baking dish

Spread some (about 4 tbsp.) spaghetti sauce on the side facing up. Slice 8 pieces of mozzarella cheese and put two on each chicken breast. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and add a dash of olive oil onto it. Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

I have these babies in the oven as I type: http://veggiemama.blogspot.com/2007/...-cupcakes.html

Mah chilli recipe, let me showz u it:


3 tbsp virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium red or green bell peppers, chopped
4 medium jalapeno peppers (or whatever hot pepper you like), seeded and diced
2 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp chili powder, or more to taste
1 tbsp cayenne powder, or more to taste
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp black pepper
15oz can black beans OR veggie minced crumbles
15oz can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
15 oz can red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
15 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
½ cup brown sugar (optional)
1 cup water

In a large pot heat oil over medium heat for five minutes. Add peppers, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, orengo, black pepper. Cook until peppers are soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes). Stir in chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans/crumbles, diced tomatoes, brown sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for ten minutes, stir occasionally.

I go to town with the hot peppers and cayenne peppers when I do this, and add some hot sauce if I'm still able to breathe afterwards.

Fettuccine Alfredo

1 pound fettuccine noodles
1 stick of butter (preferably unsalted)
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1 pint of cream
1 pressed garlic clove
chopped parsley
ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add in garlic + salt and pepper. Add the pint of cream slowly next. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes.

Strain the pasta leaving just a small amount of water and toss the noodles with the Alfredo sauce in the pot at medium heat. Mix in half of the grated cheese. Turn off the heat. Mix in the other half of the grated cheese, chopped parsley, and more ground black pepper into the mix.

Does anyone know what other spices would go well in this dish?

My alternate macaroni and cheese recipe turned out to be triumphant.

2 cups of macaroni, penne, or Rotini pasta
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour (or 1 tbsp. of cornstarch)
2 cups of milk
a bit of salt
a bit of pepper
1 or 2 cups of grated american or chedder cheese (or a pack of powdered cheese)

Cook pasta as directed and then drain. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan;
mix in flour (or cornstarch). Stir in milk slowly, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Add seasonings and cheese, stirring until cheese is melted. Pour cheese sauce over drained pasta.

Next time, I shall try the baked casserole version of this dish.

I'm not usually a creamy pasta sauce fan, but I once ate a version of Alfredo made with saffron and it was bloody amazing.

me and my loverboy spend way too much money on clothes (black ones of course) and by the end of our paycheck we have to eat very cheaply, so I have come up with a few recipes, dehydrated vegetable soup and brown rice ( nutritious part) and boil !!! voila a delicious flavored rice!
orrrrr
dark chocolate fondue

lots of cut up seasonal fruit
melt the dark chocolate with cream and perhaps creme de cocao or baileys irish cream in a crock pot thing, intoxicatingly good!!

Stock up on flour, you can do a lot with it!
And rice is really filling and can be used in a variety of ways as well.
=]

I'm getting anxious because I have no money until Monday and I'm low on flour. Its like ZOMG can I make it last through Sunday?!!! I want onion rings! And cupcakes! And pretzels!

Speaking of onion rings, easy vegan onion rings in the frying pan, if you're like me and too cheap to invest in a deep fryer:

http://www.pickyvegan.net/2009/01/onion-rings.html

I will try adding saffron if I ever make fettuccine alfredo again. Perhaps basil will work well with it too?

I would think that basil will go well with a saffron alfredo, although I think tai basil may work better with the saffron if you have it available.

I am not sure that my local supermarket carries tai basil. Perhaps I should go look for it in specialty stores?